The Los Angeles Rams are facing a full-blown special teams crisis right now, with long snapper Cardona sitting out Wednesday and Thursday practices and officially doubtful for Week 8. If he cannot go, the team is staring down the barrel of activating a sixth different specialist to take a snap this season. Seriously, *six* different guys in just eight weeks. You cannot make this stuff up.
The Long Snapper Carousel Keeps Spinning
This is more than just a nagging injury, it is a full-on special teams meltdown, and it is going to continue being a work in progress. If Jake McQuaide does indeed step in for Week 8, he will be that sixth specialist for the Rams this year. McQuaide was actually the long snapper to close out the 2025 season for them, replacing Alex Ward, and he was excellent, helping the squad claw their way to the NFC Championship Game. The dude has history with the Rams too, playing for them from 2011 to 2020 and even snagging Pro Bowl honors in 2016 and 2017. He has also bounced around the league with the Cowboys, Lions, Bears, Vikings, Dolphins, and Steelers, on either the active roster or the practice squad. It is like the Rams are just constantly swapping parts, as one expert put it, like a bad mechanic who never actually fixes the car, just runs up the bill.
Karty’s Kicking Conundrum
Beyond the long snapper drama, we have kicker Joshua Karty potentially rejoining the fray. Coach McVay was playing it coy on Wednesday, saying they would “work through those things and kind of just see how the week goes” regarding Karty potentially handling kickoffs. By Friday, McVay said activating Karty to the 48-man gameday roster depends on other injuries popping up during the week, and yeah, Karty’s ability to impact kickoffs would be a big factor. The Rams replaced Karty with Harrison Mevis after Week 9 last season, and you can see why. Karty’s field goal production dipped hard, from 85.3% his rookie season all the way down to 66.7% through eight games in his second year. Turns out, Karty was “dealing with a little hip thing” during training camp last year, admitting he “probably should have just rested for a bit in fall camp.” That is not exactly a ringing endorsement for a quick fix, is it?
What It Means For Week 8 and Beyond
Look, it is not all doom and gloom. The Rams just snapped a two-game losing streak with a solid 35-21 win over the Raiders in Week 7, after taking defeats from the Bills and Cardinals. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum went off, combining for 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Matthew Stafford tossed three touchdown passes. So the offense is still cooking. For Week 8, they are facing the winless Chargers, and guess what? Experts overwhelmingly favor the Rams. Out of 52 picks across USA Today, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports, The Athletic, and NFL.com, a massive 47 have the Rams winning. Only five, all from Bleacher Report, are picking the Chargers. A win on Sunday would be huge, giving them back-to-back victories for the first time this season, and that would set them up nicely for the second half of the year. Here is hoping this special teams mess does not blow up what could be a crucial stretch. They really need to find a dependable mechanic, and soon.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Turf Show Times.
Leave a Reply